Kawhi Leonard entered the NBA as the No. 15 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and did so without much fanfare.The San Antonio Spurs forward quickly made his mark on the league, though, earning All-Rookie First-Team honors in 2012 and steadily becoming one of the NBA's best two-way athletes.He led the Spurs to the 2014 NBA title, defeating LeBron James and the Miami Heat and earning the NBA Finals MVP award in the process.However, former NBA star Penny Hardaway isn't ready to call Leonard a superstar just yet. In fact, Hardaway said during an appearance on SiriusXM's "Bottomline" NBA show, Leonard's quiet off-court persona is what is holding him back from joining the likes of LeBron, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry as one of the faces of the league:

"Superstar? No," the quote from Hardaway reads. "Kawhi Leonard is not a superstar because he has no interest in being the face of the league or starring in TV commercials. He's a good player, but I wouldn't consider him a superstar player."

Obviously, off-court personality is a big reason why the aforementioned stars are so popular, but Leonard is every bit the player those guys are on the court, so should it really matter that much that he doesn't want to spotlight on him when he's off the court?

Leonard has made two All-Star teams, has won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award twice and is a three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team player. He finished the 2016-17 season averaging a career-high 25.5 points to go with 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per night.

Meanwhile, the Spurs finished second to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference during the regular season and were swept by the Warriors in the Western Conference finals after Leonard suffered an ankle injury that greatly limited his effectiveness on the court.

Another counter to Hardaway's point is that former San Antonio great Tim Duncan had a similar distaste for the spotlight, but there's no question he's one of the best players ever to step foot on an NBA court and would be considered a superstar by almost everyone you could ask.

However, based on what we know about Kawhi Leonard, he's not likely to be affected by Hardaway's criticism. He'll just keep on doing what he does on the court when the 2017-18 season tips off in a couple of months.

Leading the Spurs to another impressive record will be more difficult this year, though, as the Western Conference is now loaded with super-teams gunning for Golden State's place atop the standings. But, if there's one player who can keep the Spurs competitive, it's Leonard.